30.07.2018 - Derek O´Brien

Jeremie Blain: I think we’ll be really solid defensively

Twenty-six-year-old JEREMIE BLAIN is one of two defenceman from the Canadian province of Quebec to join HC Sparta this season. "So far everyone’s been so nice to us, from the management to the office staff," he began, speaking about himself and new teammate Steven Delisle. "They took us around and showed us the city. And Prague is just a sick city. It’s been great."

Born in the Montreal suburb of Longueil and raised as a big fan of the NHL Canadiens, Blain played junior hockey for the Victoriaville Tigres and Acadie-Bathurst Titan and was a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2010. After splitting the next six seasons shuttling between the AHL and ECHL, he decided to go to Austria in 2016. On the day of his first on-ice session with his new team in a new country, the 26-year-old took the time to speak a little bit about his new team and what made him decide to continue his career in Europe.

Have you met any of your new teammates yet?
Yeah, I’ve met them all and they’ve been great too. I never met any of these guys before but there are a lot of Czechs playing junior hockey in Quebec and one thing I can say is that all of them who I’ve played with have always been good guys, good teammates. That´s why I wasn’t stressed about coming to the Czech league.

Do you know anybody playing here?
Not on this team, but my friend Alexandre Mallet plays in Brno.

Steven already told the story about meeting you in Montreal and flying overseas together. What’s that been like for you?
It’s been nice because it can be real hard if you’re the only import on the team. I know that from some of the European guys who I had for teammates in junior, and so now we’ve got a couple others here and I think it’s gonna be good. Steven and I are going to be living together in the same apartment this year and sharing a car before we get the second one, so there’ll be a lot of rides to and from the rink together.

You’ve got a car? How do you like driving in Prague with the trams?
Oh man, I get nosebleeds just driving in the city! That’s something totally new for me. You gotta keep your head on a swivel or you’re gonna get rammed.

Anyway, you played against Steven in the QMJHL, AHL and ECHL and you’re both physical players. Did you ever have any memorable confrontations with him? Any fights?
No, thank God (laughing). That would not have been fun for me. He’s huge.

Speaking of big defencemen, your new head coach Uwe Krupp was one of those...
Well both of them are! Our assistant coach Jaroslav Nedved is about 6-foot-6 and he was a defenceman too. They’re both huge – bigger than me.

And it seems like there are several big defencemen going to camp this year. What’s your feeling about how the team’s corps of d-men looks?
We’ll see what happens, but from some of the guys I’ve seen so far, I think we’ll be really solid defensively.

I guess you’ve had the chance to talk to Krupp. What’s your impression of him so far?
The main thing is, he played the game at the highest level and it shows in the way he talks about his approach. I’ve never played for him before but I’ve only heard good things from people who have. I’m excited to play for him and we’ll see what happens. I think it’s gonna be really good.

It’s pretty unusual for a foreigner to coach in the Czech league...
I think that’s going to help (Steven and I) adjust to the league too, because he played in North America for a long time and he coached in the DEL where they have a lot of imports, so I think he’s used to dealing with players with all different backgrounds.

You’re new to the Czech league but you have played in Europe. How did you like playing in Austria the past two seasons?
I loved it. I’d like to get a summer house there. Two years ago I was in Villach, which is more of a lake region, and then I was in Innsbruck, which is the Alps and it’s a bigger city.

And what about the league, the EBEL?
I think it’s more of a North American style than other leagues in Europe. There are a lot of North American players and coaches. I liked it, but now I’m excited to see what it’s like here because I know the level of hockey is better and I’m curious about how different the style of play is.

Off the ice, what is the biggest difference between playing in Europe and in North America?
The number of games is the biggest thing. That and the travel. Here you play two or three games a week, hardly ever back to back, and even after road games you’re usually back home at maybe 2AM at the latest and sleep in your own bed. Also, over there everyone’s stressed out about being called up or sent down. Don’t get me wrong, we all loved playing hockey, but sometimes you play so many games and travel so much that you’re miserable and tired.

When I was playing in Brampton a couple years ago, we were the only Canadian team in the ECHL, and nine times during the season we played Friday night at home, Saturday night on the road and Sunday afternoon at home again. If we played Saturday night in, say, Wheeling, West Virginia, it was a seven-hour bus ride back home, which didn’t include stopping at the border, getting off the bus and going through Canadian customs. I would get to bed around 9:30 AM and then get up at 11, cook some eggs and go to the rink for a game at 2:00 PM. I did that nine times that season. How does that sound? That’s why I love the lifestyle of Europe. I love that we don’t play as many games and we get to enjoy life.

I know your older brother Luc Olivier has played in Europe before...
Yeah, he’s going back to France this year. He played there before and has played in Brampton the last three years. We played together that one year and lived together, which was fun. Playing in France is a little different than Austria or the Czech Republic, but it’s getting better there.

Do you think you’ll get a chance to see him during the season?
Maybe during one of the international breaks, but I don’t know. We’ll have to see what our schedules are like. He’ll probably come to Prague to visit me during one of the breaks. That would be great.

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